Monthly Archives: January 2014

What we value in U.S. is not the same as in other countries | Bedford Hills Homes

How does marketing to and negotiating with U.S. clients differ from working with global clients? Understanding the difference and adapting your style can dramatically improve your income in 2014. Global buyers and sellers continue to be a growing segment of the U.S. real estate market. A critical step in serving this market is being able to identify the unique cultural needs of your clients. The next step is to adjust your marketing and negotiation style to fit their cultural background.

The reptilian always wins Psychologist and marketing specialist Clotaire Rapaille’s research shows that the brainstem, rather than the cortex, has the greatest influence on buying decisions. This area is sometimes known as the reptilian brain. It lacks words, yet it regulates virtually all of your vital functions.

When you can discover what motivates a person’s reptilian brain, you greatly increase the probability of making a sale. As Rapaille puts it, “The reptilian always wins.” In other words, the brain’s desire for food, comfort and other basic needs outweighs the logical decisions made in the cortex.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/01/27/my-home-is-my-castle-4-tips-for-understanding-americans-unique-real-estate-needs/?utm_source=20140127&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.dOdsKWwH.dpuf

Profit on Home Retailers | Pound Ridge Homes

Leave a reply

For investors looking to profit from the rebounding U.S. housing market, stocks in the repair and rebuilding sector such as Home Depot(HD _) and Lowe’s(LOW _) should do better than DR Horton(DHI _), Beazer Homes(BZH _), and other home builders.
At present, home sales are starting to cool down, according to the National Association of Realtors. But the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University predicts that remodeling work will increase at a double digit rate for early 2014.

December home sales were the second weakest month for 2013.

Last year, real estate buying was at its highest level since 2006. But investors should not expect that to continue. Joel Narooff, Chief Economist for National Economic Advisors, warned that the pace was simply “not sustainable” due to “mortgage rates likely to move up this year, sales and price gains will likely be half of what we saw last year.” Moreover, November’s rate was adjusted, so the December sales report was not that bullish.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12266445/1/profit-on-home-retailers.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

U.S. new home sales fall, but private sector expands | Bedford Corners NY Homes

Leave a reply

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell more than expected in December, but lean inventories and steady price gains suggested the housing market recovery remained intact.

Economists largely shrugged off the second straight month of decline in sales, blaming frigid temperatures. Other data on Monday showed an acceleration in services sector growth in January, backing views of sustainable strength in the economy.

“It’s cold out there for the economy. The drop in new home sales is not a sign the economy at large is starting to slow in a worrisome manner,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York.

The Commerce Department said new home sales fell 7.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 414,000 units. Sales were at a 445,000-unit pace in November and economists had expected them to slow to only a 457,000-unit rate in December.

Apart from the bitterly cold weather, last month’s decline in sales was likely a continuation of the payback after October’s outsized 14.9 percent increase. Sales in the Northeast, which was hard hit by cold temperatures, tumbled 36.4 percent to their slowest pace since June 2012.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-home-sales-fall-private-181523403.html

A look at shifting trends in home ownership by occupation | Chappaqua NY Homes

Leave a reply

The housing crisis didn’t hit all professions equally. In fact, construction workers and builders are the only group who increased their rate of home ownership in the years after the recession, new research shows.

In an analysis of over 70 different professions before and after the recession (2007 to 2009, vs. 2010 to 2012), home ownership among construction workers rose 1 percentage point to 55.4% — the highest growth of any profession — and increased 0.7 percentage points to 65.4% among carpenters during the same period, according to real-estate website Trulia, which mined U.S. Census data for the statistics. Home ownership among electricians remained steady at 75% before and after the recession, the study found.

Construction workers did especially well, given the crash in the property market after 2008, says Susan M. Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at Wharton University of Pennsylvania. “The only sectors that saw growth are groups that have access to bargains and distressed housing and have the expertise to fix them up,” she says. Others are more perplexed by the increase among laborers, especially since they were among the hardest-hit professionals when the housing market crashed in 2008. “It’s certainly ironic,” says Don Frommeyer, president of the National Association of Mortgage Professionals, which represents mortgage brokers. Still, he says, the recovery in the housing market in 2013 should be of some consolation to those who are ready to get back on the property ladder.

FHFA House Price index is within 9% of April 2005′s peak levels | Armonk NY Homes

Leave a reply

The FHFA House Price Index differs from the other house price indices like Case-Shiller and Radar Logic in that it only looks at houses with mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This means all the home prices are below the conforming threshold, which is $417,000. It also means the borrower has a mortgage, which eliminates cash-only transactions. And finally, the FHFA House Price Index eliminates jumbos. This makes it more of a central tendency index.

Real estate values are big drivers of consumer confidence and spending, so they have an enormous effect on the economy. The phenomenon of “underwater” homeowners—homeowners who owe more than their mortgage is worth—has been a major drag on economic growth. Underwater homeowners are reluctant to spend and can’t relocate to where the jobs are. So real estate and mortgage professionals watch the real estate indices closely.

Real estate prices are also a big driver of credit availability in the economy. Mortgages and loans secured by real estate are major risk areas for banks. When real estate prices start falling, banks become conservative and reserve funds for losses. Conversely, increasing real estate prices make the collateral worth more than the loan, which encourages banks to lend more.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/fhfa-house-price-index-within-170005291.html